familypediawikiaorg-20200214-history
Zorobabel ben Salathiel (c555 BC-)
}} * Appointed Persian Governor by King Darius to Lead Return of Exiles to Jerusalem in 520 BC * Royal Birthright of Christ * Biblical figure Biography Born in Babylon (the name is Assyrian). Grandson of Jechonias, king of Judah, and son of Pedaiah (1 Chr. 3:16–19); in Ezra 3:2 and elsewhere he is called “son of Shealtiel,” probably his nephew or legal heir. Zerubbabel was also known by the Persian name Sheshbazzar (Ezra 1:8, etc.). When Cyrus gave permission to the Jews to return to Palestine, Zerubbabel was appointed pekhah or governor, as the representative of the Jewish royal house (Ezra 1:8). He set up an altar in Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple (see Temple of Zerubbabel) (Ezra 3:2, 8; 4:2–3; 5:2); being helped by Haggai (Hag. 1:1–14; 2) and Zechariah (Zech. 4:6–10). In the New Testament he is called “Zorobabel.” Zerubbabela was in biblical account a governor of the Persian Province of Yehud Medinata1 and the grandson of Jehoiachin, penultimate king of Judah. Zerubbabel led the first group of Jews, numbering 42,360, who returned from the Babylonian captivity in the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia.2 The date is generally thought to have been between 538 and 520 BC.3 Zerubbabel also laid the foundation of the Second Temple in Jerusalem soon after. In all of the accounts in the Hebrew Bible that mention Zerubbabel, he is always associated with the high priest who returned with him, Joshua (Jeshua) son of Jozadak (Jehozadak). Together, these two men led the first wave of Jewish returnees from exile and began to rebuild the Temple.2 Old Testament theologian John Kessler describes the region of Judah as a small province that contained land extending 25 km from Jerusalem and was independently ruled prior to the Persian rule.4 Zerubbabel was the governor of this province.5 King Darius I of Persia appointed Zerubbabel governor of the Province.6 It was after this appointment that Zerubbabel began to rebuild the Temple. Elias Bickerman speculates that one of the reasons that Zerubbabel was able to rebuild the Temple was because of "the widespread revolts at the beginning of the reign of Darius I in 522 BC, which preoccupied him to such a degree that Zerubbabel felt he could initiate the rebuilding of the temple without repercussions".7 Living in Exile After Jeconiah was deposed as king, Jeconiah's uncle, Zedekiah,2Ki.24:17 was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar to rule Judah. Zedekiah was the son of Josiah.12 Jeconiah would later be regarded as the first of the exilarchs. In the Book of Ezekiel, the author refers to Jeconiah as king and dates certain events by the number of years he was in exile. The author identifies himself as Ezekiel, a contemporary of Jeconiah, and he never mentions Zedekiah by name. Release from Captivity 27 ¶ And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison; 28 And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon; 29 And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life. 30 And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life. 2 Kings 25:27-30 - KJV Translation According to 2 Kings 25:27-30, Jeconiah was released from prison "in the 37th year of the exile", in the year that Amel-Marduk (Evil-Merodach) came to the throne, and given a prestigious position at court. Jeconiah's release in Babylon brings to a close the Books of Kings and the Deuteronomistic history. Babylonian records show that Amel-Marduk began his reign in October 562 BC.14 According to 2 Kings 25:27, Jeconiah was released from prison "on the 27th day of the twelfth month": this indicates the first year of captivity to be 598/597 BC, according to Judah's Tishri-based calendar. The 37th year of captivity was thus, by Judean reckoning, the year that began in Tishri of 562, consistent with the synchronism to the accession year of Amel-Marduk given in Babylonian records. References * Gospel of Matthew Ch 1 * Gospel of Luke Ch 3 * Zerubbabel - LDS Bible Dictionary * Zerubbabel - Wikipedia Category:Biblical figures Category:Semetic Tribes Category:Upgraded from info page Category:Lineage Adam to Jesus Category:Tribe of Judah Category:People from Books of Kings Category:King of Judah